Safety apparatus



May 12, 1942. o, z'o 1 2,282,413

SAFETY APPARATUS 7 Original Filed Nov. 18, 1939 FIG. I. q

FIG. 2.- m

7 FIG. 3. 0

8 i I l Patented May 12, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

sAFETYArPAnATUs Orren E. Zoder, St. Louis, Mo.,

assignor, by. mesne assignments, to Zoder, Incorporated, St. Louis,

a corporation of Missouri Original application November 18, 1939, Serial No. 305,159, now Patent Divide April 29, 1941.

May 25, 1940, Serial No.

3 Claims.

- paratus.

The invention is a division of the invention disclosed in my United States patent application Serial No. 305,159, filed November 18, 1939, for Safety apparatus, now Patent No. 2,240,277, granted April 29, 1941.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of means for cutting wherein failure of operation may quickly be rectifled; andthe provision of a simple form of safet apparatus adapted to avoid an emptying syphoning action on tanks under abnormal conditions. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which are shown several of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an application of the invention;- i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of a part of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing an alternative form of the invention; and,.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3..

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now more particularly to Fig, 1, there is shown an apparatus wherein there is danger of the formation of a syphon suction efiect between an elevated fuel tank and a low point of use of the fuel. For example, at numeral I42 is shown a fuel tank and at numeral I43 an engine having a pump I45 and carburetor I 46. The pump sucks fuel from the tank and delivers it to the carburetor of the engine. Theparticular circumstances involved in this embodiment are that the tank I42 is above the level of the pump I45, although the invention is susceptible No. 2,240,277, dated d and this application The circumstances in stantial elevation occur quite often in the case of boats in which the engine, including the pump and carburetonis at a relatively low elevation.

It sometimes occurs that leak valves and the float valve of the carburetor leaks or sticks. Hence, when the engine I43 stops, say at' night, a syphon action occurs through the line I41 which connects the tank I42 and the pump I45, and through the line I ll connecting the pump I45 and carburetor I40. This causes the carburetor bowl to overflow continuously, liquid being drawn from the tank I42 1'; which floods the boat with fuel and provides a 0 off dangerous liquid under certain conditions,

serious fire hazard. Furthermore, lines such as I41 are-sometimes in locations where they become disconnected by accident or develop leaks at low points, thus causing the syphoning action which empties the tank I42 into the boat.-

The form of the invention shown overcomes the above diificulty. At I49 is shown the suction line in the tank I42 which reaches to a point near the bottom, and on the outside of this line is attached a body I51 in which is a fusible plug I53 which fuses in case of fire. This relieves tank pressure and prevents an explosion. In the body I5I is also a passage I55 (wherein is used a strainer I51) leading up a diaphragm I05. The chamber- I 59 connects with the suction line I 41 which passes down to a point below the tank I42.

The diaphragm I05 has presses a valve III.

an anvil II11 which 4 which communicates with the interior of the body I5I by means of opening 6.

An air vent screw I6I serves to leadin air above the diaphragm I05. If the diaphragm leaks, the the operator breaks the Seal 165 so that he may screw down IIiI. This depresses the broken dia phragm I05 to open valve III and at the same to variation in this respect, as will later appear. 55

time closes port I62. Hence, in emergency, gasoline may be drawn out over line I41. The broken seal I permits an inspector to determine that repairs are needed.

Suction in the line I41 is that which draws down the diaphragm l I15 (when unbroken) to which a tank is at a sub- I the pump I45 has to a chamber I59 under The stem portion II2 of the I valve is of polygonal shape permitting passage of fluid when the open the valve III against the action of spring I I3 and draws liquid from the tank over line I49. It will be seen that the action of the diaphragm I05 must overcome the reaction of the spring H3. The strength or the spring II3 must be great enough to close the valve III against the suction action on the diaphragm I05 which is equal to the greatest negative syphon head in line I41. Since the syphon heads of substantially varying amounts may be met with, the screw abutment I63 is employed to adjust the spring H3 so that the syphon head falls just short of deflecting the diaphragm I05 downwardly enough to openthe valve I I I, butwhen the pump I45 starts and adds its negative suction head to the negative syphon head, the diaphragm I05 is depressed to open the valve III against the spring II3.

A modified form of the Fig. 2 construction is shown in Fig. 3 wherein no diaphragm is used. In this case a body I61 is provided with a valve seat I69 closed upstream by a valve III. The valve is normally seated by means of a spring I13, the tension of which may be adjusted by the hollow screw I14. Numeral I41 again indicates the line which passes to the pump I45 at the lower elevation. Suction in theline I41 results in opening the valve I1I against the action of the spring I13. In this case the spring I13 is made strong enough so that the syphon head falls just short of opening the valve I1I, but so that when the added suction head of the pump I45 is applied the valve will open. 1

The valve seat I69 is of steep taper of the order of 60, in order to obtain a substantial unit pressure on the valve seat for a given spring pressure from spring I13.

It will be noted from Figs. 3 and 4 that the valve MI is also polygonal in form,.except that its upper portion where liquid is led through passages 8;

In some instances the tank I42 may be below the engine E, or at least at a point such that during part of the time its liquid level goes below that of the engine. In this event there will be no syphoning action toward the engine at least part of the time. In such cases the present apparatus simply functions as a safety shut-off valve. As such it avoids the necessity for a handoperated shut-off valve.

Another use of the valve is at a point adjacent to the pump I45, where the fuel tank is elevated- In this event the valve does not act as a means to prevent syphoning but stops oil or supports the liquid head which would otherwise be applied to pump I45 and carburetor I46. In boats where the tank I42 is on a high deck, trouble is often encountered due to too much head pressure on relatively delicate carbureter valves and by placing the present construction at the base of this head, the excessive pressure may be kept oil the pump. It still allows the pump to meter out fluid by causing opening of valve III or I1I.

In the case of the valve III, the pump I45 would need to draw it open against the pressure of the spring H3 and the applied liquid head. In the case of the valve I1 I, the spring I13 would be adjusted to hold against the liquid head, but

1. Safety apparatus comprising a hollow body having movable separating means dividing it into two compartments, said body having a liquid inlet on one side of the separating means and having a liquid suction outlet upon the same side of said means, a valve seating downstream between the inlet and the outlet, a spring normally biasing said valve to a seat, adjustable backing means for the spring, said movable means being arranged to open the valve upon suction occurring in said outlet, the compartment on the other side of the movable means having an atmospheric connection, and means for simultaneously closing said atmospheric connection and moving the movable means to open the valve by manual adjustment from the exterior of the device.

2. Safety apparatus comprising a hollow body, a flexible diaphragm dividing the body into two compartments, one of said compartments having a liquid inlet and a suction outlet, a valve between the inlet and the outlet, said valve being normally seated but adapted'to be unseated by deflection of the diaphragm in response to suction at said outlet, means on the other side of the diaphragm providing an atmosphere connection, said means being adjustable to close said connection and to deflect the diaphragm to open the valve when desired, whereby under punctured conditions of the diaphragm air leakage into the suction outlet is prevented and said outlet is maintained in. direct connection with the inlet independent of said diaphragm.

3., Safety apparatus for liquid containers, com-- prising a tank for liquid, means forming a liquid passage from a point near the bottom of the tank to a lower exterior point, whereby a two-limbed syphon is formed with a relatively short limb inside the tank and a longer limb outside, adapted to produce a continuous suction syphon head tending torwithdraw liquid from the tank, a suction pump in the outer limb adapted intermittently to produce a suction head in addition to the syphon head, a control valve in said passage, a movable diaphragm exposed to the sum of the efiects of said syphon and suction heads and operatively connected to the valve and adapted to open it in response to the sum of the heads of the syphon and pump when the pump operates, means biasing the valve shut against merely the syphon head but releasing the valve to open in response to said action of the diaphragm in response to'the sum of the suction and syphon heads, means providing a substantially large outlet in said liquid passage on the tank side of said valve, and a fusible plug in said outlet.

ORREN E. ZODER. 

